Therapeutic effects and biomarkers in sublingual immunotherapy: a review. J Allergy (Cairo). 2012;2012:381737. [PMID: 22500184 PMCID: PMC3303629 DOI: 10.1155/2012/381737]

Protective effects of Surfacen® in allergen-induced asthma mice model

Airway obstruction with increased airway resistance in asthma, commonly caused by smooth muscle constriction, mucosal edema and fluid secretion into the airway lumen, may partly be due to a poor function of pulmonary surfactant. Surfacen®, a clinical pulmonary surfactant, has anti-inflammatory action, but its effect on asthma has not been studied. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of Surfacen® in a murine allergen-induced acute asthma model, using house dust mite allergens. In a therapeutic experimental setting, mice were first sensitized by being administered with two doses (sc) of Dermatophagoides siboney allergen in aluminum hydroxide followed by one intranasal administration of the allergen. Then, sensitized mice were administered with aerosol of hypertonic 3% NaCl, Salbutamol 0.15 mg/kg, or Surfacen® 16 mg in a whole-body chamber on days 22, 23, and 24. Further, mice were subjected to aerosol allergen challenge on day 25. Surfacen® showed bronchial dilation and inhibition of Th2 inflammation (lower levels of IL-5 and IL-13 in broncoalveolar lavage) which increased IFN-γ and unchanged IL-10 in BAL. Moreover, Sufacen® administration was associated with a marked inhibition of the serum specific IgE burst upon allergen exposure, as well as, IgG2a antibody increase, suggesting potential anti-allergy effects with inclination towards Th1. These results support also the effectiveness of the aerosol administration method to deliver the drug into lungs. Surfacen® induced a favorable pharmacological effect, with a bronchodilator outcome comparable to Salbutamol, consistent with its action as a lung surfactant, and with an advantageous anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic immunomodulatory effect.

Differential Plasma-cell evolution is linked with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus immunotherapy response

Allergic rhinitis is highly prevalent worldwide. Immunotherapy has been shown to control its symptoms, however, up to 30% of patients may not respond. Previous studies of the immunological mechanisms involved in allergen-immunotherapy (AIT) have focused on the humoral and T-cell response and several studies have evaluated some B-cell subpopulations during AIT and their role in immunological tolerance. However, although B and plasma-cell subpopulations are two of the most important cellular subtypes involved in allergic reactions, their relation with AIT efficacy remains unelucidated. The objective was to analyze the effects of immunotherapy on different B and plasma-cell subpopulations and whether these changes correlate with the clinical response to the treatment. Although no changes are found in B-cell subpopulations, responder patients show increased levels of memory B-cells even before the beginning of treatment. Changes in plasma-cell subpopulations are found, mainly in circulating inflammatory plasma-cells that could affect the response to the allergen. Moreover, an early increase of specific-IgG4 and IgG4 secreting-cells was found. All these suggest that the determination of the memory B-cells before the initiation of the treatment, and the quantification of IgG4 and IgG4-secreting-cells in the first months of immunotherapy, could serve as markers for the clinical response to treatment.

Molecular biomarkers for grass pollen immunotherapy

Grass pollen allergy represents a significant cause of allergic morbidity worldwide. Component-resolved diagnosis biomarkers are increasingly used in allergy practice in order to evaluate the sensitization to grass pollen allergens, allowing the clinician to confirm genuine sensitization to the corresponding allergen plant sources and supporting an accurate prescription of allergy immunotherapy (AIT), an important approach in many regions of the world with great plant biodiversity and/or where pollen seasons may overlap. The search for candidate predictive biomarkers for grass pollen immunotherapy (tolerogenic dendritic cells and regulatory T cells biomarkers, serum blocking antibodies biomarkers, especially functional ones, immune activation and immune tolerance soluble biomarkers and apoptosis biomarkers) opens new opportunities for the early detection of clinical responders for AIT, for the follow-up of these patients and for the development of new allergy vaccines.